Should You Try a Plant-Based Diet?

 

Veganism can be a very sensitive topic for some. Primarily because of the hypocrisy surrounding it. For example, some vegans eat honey even though it’s made by bees and some vegans wear leather or wool even though they’re technically animal products. Which is why many people don’t take it seriously. 

Thoughts that surround the term veganism are that people who are on this diet are really healthy. Which can be true in some aspects, but not entirely. Especially because there’s so many plant-based meats that are frozen and easy to make that contain high amounts of sodium in order to increase shelf life. Compared to most meat products there is a large difference in saturated fat and sodium per serving. Since there are so many meat products though it really depends on the type of product. For example, grilled chicken can be recommended for people on a diet whereas red meat like ground beef is known to cause heart problems. A research article talks about the impacts of red meat on the heart and what happens in your body after you eat it. They found that “compared to people eating diets rich in white meat or plant-based protein, those who ate a diet rich in red meat had triple the levels of a chemical linked to heart disease.” In this trial when the participants were given each amount of food they found a drastic change in the chemical called Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMNO). TMNO is found in the gut bacteria and aids in digestion, when you eat meat the levels continuously rise up and when you stop the levels go back to normal after a bit. Therefore, if you keep eating red meat the levels will rise to be really harmful which can cause multiple diseases, but if you take a break from it your body will be able to cope with it leading to less of a risk. 

 A change in your diet can be difficult especially because sometimes its not even healthy. Also, paying more money for something that you don’t even know if you like can be hard, but the payoff is worth it especially when it comes to your health. Even if you don’t want to go completely vegan, maybe try cutting out some things in your diet or try meatless monday's. These small changes can still make a difference in you and to the animals.